"Are you all right," Callisto asked despite not actually harming the young lady in the wheelchair, straightening her posture.
The blue-haired lady in the wheelchair had a mellow expression on her face, and so did the tone in her voice as she expressed her gratitude for Callisto's concern.
"I'm all right. Thank you."
Right then, a woman, seemingly the impaired lady's mother, arrived to her side. Asking the lady in the wheelchair the same question she was asked earlier, and pleading for her to not go off on her own again.
Callisto walked ahead, her eyes reverting to their natural sky-blue shade out of the blue-haired girl's eyeshot as she followed the direction where the thief and the police went. Confusion and curiosity mingle in the air as the silver-haired girl traversed in the middle of the crowd.
Callisto's stride would soon halt as she found the same cops following the thief just now, just standing and looking around as they communicate with their peers through the radio.
"We lost sight of the bastard."
"There's a lot of people here at this time, so make sure to thoroughly check whoever is suspicious. Over."
"Can you give us a description of the suspect. Over."
"Light-brown skinned male, average height, in mid 20s, brown eyes, short curly hair, wears a red shirt, black shorts, and has a shoulder bag. That's probably where he's hiding his weapons and other stolen items. Over."
"Only use the non-lethals when you feel necessary. Over."
Callisto turned her gaze to her side and found the victims of the thief, the same family she came across not too long ago.
The mother, whose wallet got stolen, begged to the officer speaking with her and her family.
"Please, you have to get my wallet back! I got all my IDs, my credit card, and my daughter's insulins in there!"
The officer and the mother's husband tried to keep her calm and collected.
"We are doing our best, Ma'am. My men are making a thorough search for the thief in the whole Riverbanks as we speak. For now, just make sure to freeze your bank account."
"He's right. Love, come on, let's call the bank and freeze your account for the time being."
"Right."
Callisto heard about insulin from her father before. It was like a key to unlocking the cells in the body to take in glucose and use it for energy, keeping one's blood sugar levels at a regular after a meal.
"Papa also said that patients are required to take insulin if their body can't make enough or cannot use it efficiently," said Callisto to herself in thought, her gaze directed towards the little girl standing between her parents. "Meaning, that little girl is diabetic."
Callisto could not help but see herself in the little girl's position. She knew how troublesome it was to be in such a rough position, hence Callisto could sympathize with the little girl and her mother's worries.
The silver-haired girl pulled the white cat mask hanging on the side of her head and covered her face with it. Behind that mask, Callisto's golden eyes shone bright like the sun, a desire to help the ones in need.
"How is it," the officer who was with the family asked his colleagues on the radio. "Still no hit? Over."
"The bastard should still be inside the Riverbanks," a man from the other side of the radio responded. "He cannot leave without getting indentified even if he changed clothes or something. Over."
"I'm here at the park side of the bridge," another officer on the other side of the radio informed everyone else in the line. "No sign of anyone suspicious crossing here yet. Over."
The communications only continued to be shared around the officers in the radio.
"This is Ramirez. I'm with Aguilar in the amphitheatre. We're going around counter clockwise. Over."
"This is Damyo in the main entrance. We're getting so many civilians leaving the park with almost similar description in terms of the culprit's attire, but still no hit. Over."
The officer who was with the family right now spoke to the radio once again. "Copy. Just remember what Rivera said. Keep in mind that the suspect could change clothes to hide their identity. So make sure to look at the face of every suspicious individual. Over."
The officers gave their affirmative to him.
Right after that, the officer standing by with the family felt a tap on his shoulder from behind.
The officer turned around and looked down at Callisto, raising an eyebrow as he asked; "What is it, Kid?"
The family turned to the silver-haired girl, recognizing her immediately despite the white cat mask covering her face.
"Excuse me," Callisto said, her voice soft and polite. "I saw where the guy you're chasing earlier went."
Understandably, the officer, the husband and wife was surprised, their eyes going wide at the revelation.
The officer took a step closer, a serious expression on his face. "Where did he go, Kid?"
"Follow me," Callisto instructed as she started heading out of the carnival.
The officer quickly followed suit, turning on his radio once more to share information with his colleagues. "I got a lead on the thief's whereabouts. I'm heading out of the carnival. Those who are guarding the escape points, keep your positions. The others, get ready to converge to me on my signal. Over."
The officers gave their affirmative as the commanding officer stepped out of the carnival, only for him to stop as the young lady in front of him stood still.
"Hey, Kid," he called. "You know where the suspect went like you said, right?"
Callisto did not respond as she remained still.
She had a conflicted expression on her face.
"W-Why is she here?"
Her mouth opened and trembled, but the words remained inside.
When the suspect almost hit Callisto if not for her dodging out of harm's way, Callisto managed to pick up his scent. Though she didn't see the culprit's face clearly, his unique scent was ingrained in Callisto's brain thanks to her incredible memory retention.
As soon as Callisto amplified her sense of smell, she immediately detected his scent. A long trail only the the young lady could see seemed to stretch from where she was standing outside the carnival, through the amphitheatre, then toward the Riverbanks mall.
The culprit was hiding somewhere inside the mall. She only needed to follow the trail of his scent and they would surely apprehend the suspect.
But something kept Callisto from making her move.
There was another scent. A very, very familiar one. It was coming from the other end of the amphitheatre where the bridge leading to the park was.
"Mama," Callisto said under her breath, her voice thick with conflicted emotions.
The world seemed to shrink around Callisto as her desire to see her mother and find out why she was in the Riverbanks warred with the need to help the officers and the family that fell victim from the thief hiding in the mall.